A Nearly (hopefully) Dandyite.

Hi......My real name is Adrian, I am currently (after much research) looking for a Dandy Discovery or Designer with an awning. How I got to this point is a looooong story. In a nutshell we (just the two of us) (oh and the 3 cats) have been caravaners but have fallen on hard times...the caravan and awning had to go and so did the car that towed it. So now I am left with my little van (Citroen nemo 1.4hdi) and the only the only things it can tow seems to be folding campers. The manufacturers max towing weight is 600KG so the little Dandys would be ideal. Ive looked around at alsorts and my head is spinning, but it seems to me the Dandy has a lot of advantages over the Conways etc.Funds are tight as you will have guessed and looking at ebay has confused me even more..the prices vary so much......and I don't want to be conned though I certainly don't object to paying a fair price. Forinstance there was late 90's Dart on ebay for £1800 which i thoguht was a bit steep...but it went the same day.... !!!!Any way enough of that......just thought i'de say hi and live in the hope that I will joining the merry band.

Good luck in your search for your Dandy. What usually happens is your Dandy will find you.

As far as prices go Dandys are much like anything else and worth what someone is prepared to pay, obviously the newer ones will fetch a good price but sometimes you can drop onto a bargain. Don't over look the older ones as if you read through the different threads on here if you are handy at diy most things on Dandys are repairable and they do last for years.

I'd say that the most important thing is that you are happy in your new Dandy. You may well have Hobsons choice when it comes to the general design of what you can tow but I think it would be good for you to view what that option allows. The Pennine Or Conway type rear entry campers are a lot more plush and decorative. They do also have in many cases fitted 3 way fridges. Dandys counter is that while more spartan, they are warmer, more rugged in adverse weather, far longer lasting and the well known "they can be packed away wet" benefit. If you had a small caravan (as there is only 2 of you) you may well be impressed at the amount of usable space. I have a friend with a notional 4 birth caravan and everything seems designed for small thin light people a Designer/Discovery will allow you space to prep and eat a meal then sit in comfort. Though the regime is different to caravaning with the erection and breaking down of the Dandy. I do encourage viewing as many as possible as it helps you gain a feeling for what is right or wrong with a Dandy.

Prices are subdued this year. I suspect the one you saw that disappeared has been relisted?

Do read up as much as you can to help you in your selection. Only too happy to help with any questions you have

Thanks for your encouragement guys. The main problem I have is time and distance......at the moment the nearest Dandy on ebay is 150 miles, I don't mind travelling but it's a long way to go to find a basket case...not only that but the sellers generally want their Dandy sold and and away. By the time I got there and said no (and maybe lost a deposit) they would have to re list it. So I am relying very much on questions and the honesty of the seller.

There is one in Bolton right now that looks interesting (still a bit on the dear side) but seems to fill all the criteria.......then at the same time there is one in Lancaster which at the moment is substantially cheaper but it only has a sun canopy as opposed to the full awning (any one know how much to convert it?) But.....I can't get to see them.

One question though.....the electrics......what do i need to tow with, twin or single. The caravan had twin..to run the fridge and charge the battery...how does the battery charge in the Dandy...or doesn't it......

The conversion from caravan to Dandy will be a culture shock, when we came to empty the caravan the amount of "stuff" we were lugging about was ridiculous. It just swallowed stuff up in all it cupboards. I am fairly handy when i need to be but greasing wheels and major mechanical things, forget it.I was kind of hoping to get something before this season ends so fingers crossed and thanks again for your advice.

In regards to travelling to pick up a dandy is risk you'll need to choose to take or not.We bought ours from eBay, we done a 250mile trip there and back when we picked up our dandy. I think we got lucky as the seller was entirely honest as it was exactly as described plus we got a load of extras!

We are two people only plus little dog and had a brand new fixed bed caravan and after 3 years and impending retirement needed to downsize to save money. We bought a Dandy Designer, a dark blue 2005 one from Riva Leisure, 200 miles away. This one [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

To be honest, the older ones were better made and if you look carefully, you may get one with new wheels/tyres, suspension, brakes etc already fitted and this will be cheaper than a newer one, which may need all these items replacing as well.

We only have a sun canopy and underskirt and do like that. However I can see that an awning will provide a lot more space. They appear bigger inside than you might imagine from pictures and are more comfortable than the caravan. Basically, your living space is 8ft x 6ft with the beds as well. The caravan had too many things in the way (wardrobe, washroom etc) leaving only a narrow corridor and the seats only had low backs. The dandy settee is really comfy with a high back.

Storage is an issue but in many ways is easier than the caravan. We use a holdall each for clothes. The Dandy is packed with everything camping related, pots & pans, crockery etc, water containers, porta potti, step, shelf, waste bin, sleeping bags, pillows, EHU lead, TV aerial & mast, TV, heater. The clothes, food & fridge go in the car. Sun canopy, chairs etc all go on top the dandy. Packing & unpacking this way is much easier than the caravan where everything had to be carried in and out.

By day storage can be difficult, but its surprising how nmuch does dissappear in the seats and cupboards. We keep the holdalls on the bed. There is also plenty of room behind the settee when made up. You need to be tidy and put things away, otherwise you can be quickly swamped. The shelf over the cooker holds a lot. The table makes room for the telly and space for preparing food.

When packed the top & bottom of the kitchen remain full as do the seats by the table. There is space under the table for the porta potti.

The fridge is more difficult. Ours is only 21litres which is small and there is no oven.

Vandriver wrote:Thanks for your encouragement guys. The main problem I have is time and distance......at the moment the nearest Dandy on ebay is 150 miles, I don't mind travelling but it's a long way to go to find a basket case...not only that but the sellers generally want their Dandy sold and and away. By the time I got there and said no (and maybe lost a deposit) they would have to re list it. So I am relying very much on questions and the honesty of the seller.

There is one in Bolton right now that looks interesting (still a bit on the dear side) but seems to fill all the criteria.......then at the same time there is one in Lancaster which at the moment is substantially cheaper but it only has a sun canopy as opposed to the full awning (any one know how much to convert it?) But.....I can't get to see them.

One question though.....the electrics......what do i need to tow with, twin or single. The caravan had twin..to run the fridge and charge the battery...how does the battery charge in the Dandy...or doesn't it......

The conversion from caravan to Dandy will be a culture shock, when we came to empty the caravan the amount of "stuff" we were lugging about was ridiculous. It just swallowed stuff up in all it cupboards. I am fairly handy when i need to be but greasing wheels and major mechanical things, forget it.I was kind of hoping to get something before this season ends so fingers crossed and thanks again for your advice.

Missed the one in Bolton. Please show a link or PM me a link if you found it on some obscure site. Bolton is only 4 miles or so away I'll have a look at it if you want?

Electrics: You do need to read up a bit. New few Dandys came with any electrical wiring. Most electrics were installed by owners, the few wired by Dandy while OK on the 240v front are not necessarily examples of how to wire 12v. I say not necessarily as we are going off limited examples examined by owners. See http://www.dandycampers.org/t2020-leisure-batteries A brew and biscuits if not sandwich required for that thread. This is a shorter critique on factory wiring though I doubt Dandys are uniquely bad. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]What do you want the leisure battery for though? Rechargeable LED lights are available at low cost (We don't need to run fluorescents any more) and a Tilley Lamp or a gas lantern takes the chill off on a cold evening. Only the water pump requires a battery and several other ways round powering that are possible.If your tow bar is not already fitted you could have single 12N electrics or 13pin. The Dandy is fitted with a 12N socket so an adapter would be required for the 13pin. The fridge and battery supplies could be mirrored to sockets in the back of the van for fridge and battery for use while travelling.If you frequent EHU sites a simple lead ending in in 3 or more sockets with an RCD is more than adequate for light, heat and cooling if you tend to go for less expensive sites a 3 way fridge will probably be the big expense.

N.B. Copy the electrics link and insert into a new tab I seem to have problems getting more than one link to highlight. http://www.dandycampers.org/t2020-leisure-batteries

Last edited by Tow Itch on Thu 18 Jul 2013, 4:14 pm; edited 1 time in total

navver wrote:To be honest, the older ones were better made and if you look carefully, you may get one with new wheels/tyres, suspension, brakes etc already fitted and this will be cheaper than a newer one, which may need all these items replacing as well.

Yes older ones are better made than the last few years but newer ones still quite adequate. The suspension is guaranteed for 10 years and tends to last for 20+ Suspension replacement gets us into a whole world of questions about raising ride height for which you would need to read up a bit. If you are unlucky enough to pick a unit that urgently needs it's suspension replaced they are available for sub £250 and a quality upgrade to 750Kg suspension can be made for £250 which raises the ride height. If you need to have the work done for you, you could be looking at £400 to £600 depending on what you had done. While this sounds a lot if you are used to caravan bills it is a pittance and should be good for 20+ years.

Last edited by Tow Itch on Thu 18 Jul 2013, 7:10 pm; edited 2 times in total

Well...this is steep learning curve. Thank you to all for taking the time to reply. I hate buying things off ebay unless it is the run of the mill stuff. I found myself getting quite anxious at the prospect of turning up to a basket case or worse. And when you see the same dandys being re listed it doesn't inspire confidence. So for pure peace of mind I am going to Riva Dandy Sales to see what is on offer there......I feel calmer already I really was confused about the electrics...but i'm alright now. I was looking at a Discovery that had a sun canopy, but on phoning TVS and being quoted £700 to convert it, I shan't be bothering.

Thank you so much for the offer of going to see the one in Bolton, that was very kind of you indeed, but I think I'll give it a miss for now, it will probably be re listed any way.

Again thanks to all, there is a lot of wisdom and kindness in this forum and all the advice has been taken onboard. I shall keep you all informed of the outcome.

£700 that sounds a bit steep. I had zips added to a Dandy awning and was asking about sides for a sun canopy on a Delta and was quoted about £350. £1,000 bought an awning for one of the late model Destinys from TVS. I know they are not cheap but think Graham may have had the wrong end of the stick on what you wanted. Worst come to worst I think Ian at Riva has some second hand Designer/Discovery awnings and was looking at £400 for them. Thought it was the Lancaster one with an "awning" that turned out to be a sun canopy.If you can cope with brown you might choose to ask some questions about and make an offer on this one [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] i.e. why did he need new poles for the awning?

Ian's stuff is bang on but not cheap. Neither the 92 Designer nor the 90 Discovery seem to have awnings.

Last edited by Tow Itch on Fri 19 Jul 2013, 12:23 am; edited 1 time in total

It was the Lancaster one with the sun canopy. The Bolton one is a different one. Don't confuse me any more than I am already My head is spinning.I shall put things on hold until I have been to see Ian, He mentioned he had some awnings so I'll see what sort of thing can be done......It's the peace of mind and bit of security I am thinking of. I'de rather pay a bit more and know everything is in order than have something I can't afford to fix. It might come to taking a gamble at some point but I'de rather go this route first. Once bitten twice shy as they say.

I wouldn't discount the brown altogether, but Glamorgan is just a wee bit to far from Newcastle.